The NHL “village” is looking on the Edmonton negotiations and not liking what it sees …

Daryl Katz’s threat to move the Edmonton Oilers to a city like Seattle if he can’t get a suitable arena deal was met with fury in Edmonton. In aCult of Hockey poll, 83 per cent of fans said the threat was way over the top.

Around the NHL, league insiders agreed with the assessment of Oilers fans. Worse than that for the Katz Group, the insiders also suggested that Katz’s Seattle gambit gave a black eye to NHL owners, who hardly need to look more greedy than they already do in their dispute with NHL players.

The lockout is becoming a major issue in the Edmonton arena dispute. With no fantastic young Oilers team on the ice, there’s no glow around NHL hockey in Edmonton. Fans aren’t revved up about the team, as they might be if they just saw Ryan Nugent-Hopkins set up Nail Yakupov on a brilliant goal, or Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle work their magic. This dynamic sours all things Oilers related.

Fans are also more open to the notion that NHL owners only care about revenue, that they don’t give a hoot about the fans or the game, as evidenced by the lockout.

Katz’s Seattle gambit plays into this perception, say various league insiders, such as veteran hockey writers like Eric Duhatschek and Damien Cox.

As Cox put it: “Oilers owner Daryl Katz seemed to personify the mindless greed of the owners on Monday when, in the hours before the NFL game in the same city, he ‘visited’ with officials in Seattle about the possibility of moving the Edmonton franchise to Washington State.”

Now, you might say that Duhatschek and Cox are just writers, not businessmen, and that their opinion doesn’t count with NHL owners. But the fact is these two Toronto sportswriters are part of the very small village of NHL insiders. This village is made up of a few hundred insiders to the game. They all talk to each other. They share opinions and information.

Sports columnists have some small amount of power and influence in that village. They also hear things about how the actions of a certain owners, such as Katz, are sitting with other owners and with the league office, that sort of thing.

So what they say can’t be cheering to anyone in the Katz Group.

The NHL village is looking on the Edmonton negotiations and it’s not liking what it sees.

Eric Duhatschek of The Globe & Mail: “So how many things are wrong with this picture? For starters, Katz is trying to gain concessions from city council at a time when NHL play is suspended until further notice because of a player lockout imposed by the owners. Characterizing the labour dispute as billionaire owners vs. millionaire players may be an oversimplification in some markets, but not in Edmonton. Katz is the 13th richest man in Canada and has a net worth of roughly $2-billion, according to Forbes magazine. The notion of taxpayers further subsidizing one of the wealthiest men in the country so his NHL team can play in a state-of-the-art facility is both unpopular and unseemly.”

By Dan Di Sciullo, NHL Editor, The Sports Network, Philadelphia: “Katz’s stance on the arena deal reflects the owners’ position in the NHL’s labor negotiations. Like his fellow owners when it comes to the sharing of record revenues generated by the NHL, it seems like Katz is only interested in making an already lucrative deal even more profitable for himself. That is the perception anyway and dangling the threat of relocation in the face of Oilers’ fans isn’t going to help the owners’ reputation.

“But since more money is what they’re after and not winning popularity contests, there is still time for the owners to get what they want. Getting it may cost the NHL part of its season, but as Katz showed with his window- shopping trip to Seattle, some owners are willing to go to extreme lengths for leverage.”

Damien Cox of the Toronto Star: “Oilers owner Daryl Katz seemed to personify the mindless greed of the owners on Monday when, in the hours before the NFL game in the same city, he ‘visited’ with officials in Seattle about the possibility of moving the Edmonton franchise to Washington State.

“Katz has no such intention, of course. What he’s trying to do is wring more concessions out of Edmonton on a new $475 million arena after first agreeing to a deal, then subsequently telling city council he wants millions of dollars in new concessions.

“The Oilers are already profitable and have an extremely loyal fan base that has continued to buy tickets despite the dreadful showing of the team in recent years under Katz’s ownership. To reflect upon the the passing last week of Art Modell, the man who moved the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore and in so doing became the most hated man in Ohio, Katz clearly knows as an Edmonton native he would be risking similar pariah status if he tried to move the Oilers.”

David Shoalts of the Globe & Mail: “Actually, Katz should be congratulated for his multi-tasking during the NHL lockout. We thought both of his hands were occupied helping his fellow owners shake the players by their ankles in order to free every loose nickel. But Katz is dextrous enough to spare a hand to root around in the pockets of Alberta taxpayers as well.

“By the way, is there any species more oblivious than NHL owners? With public sentiment running strongly against the owners as training camps are shuttered and pre-season games cancelled because of the lockout, Katz’s timing is remarkable.”

Michael Traikos of the National Post described Katz’s Seattle gambit as “delusional.”: “For no one actually believes Katz will pack up and leave Edmonton for Seattle or Quebec City or the other “potential NHL markets [he has been listening to] for some time.” What they believe is that this is simply his attempt to gain leverage by creating the perception that he has options.

“In reality, all Katz has done is create the perception that he cares little about a fan base that has continually stood by his last-place team.”

Seattle sports radio host Ian Furness told Global News that he believes Katz’s visit is being used as leverage and calls it a “cheap shot.”

“For a fan base that sold out 200 straight games, for the ownership to come to a new market, a few hours south, to come down and use that market as leverage, when it’s really not leverage for another three years until they build the building, because we don’t have a temporary home, I think that’s kind of a cheap shot at a good fan base,” explained Furness.

Elliotte Friedman of the CBC: “Clearly, Katz is frustrated with negotiations in the Alberta capital. And when you’re frustrated, it is imperative to have someone around you who can slap you in the face and say: ‘I know you’re mad. But what you’re about to do is really dumb and I’m not going to let it happen.’

“The Oilers are not going to Seattle. If you don’t believe me, maybe you should listen to Don Levin, the guy who actually wants to bring the NHL to The Emerald City. ‘I can tell you there are not teams for sale that are available to move,’ Levin told ESPN.com’s Craig Custance last week. ‘My understanding is that the Phoenix deal, [Greg Jamison] has come up with the money. The answer to the Islanders moving is never. They’re not moving out of that market. No chance that’s going to happen.’

“So let me get this straight. The Phoenix Coyotes and New York Islanders aren’t available. But the Oilers are? To go from Edmonton, a hockey-crazed market, to Seattle, where you would be the second tenant in a building they wouldn’t own?”

Pierre LeBrun of ESPN:“Let’s be clear here, there’s almost zero chance Katz can move the Oilers out of Edmonton. The NHL’s Board of Governors would never vote in favor of that given what the City of Edmonton is willing to put in for a new downtown arena. The board, I believe, would simply never see any merit in any reason for a move. This is all about Katz gaining some leverage in his dealings with the City of Edmonton, wanting to get a better deal for himself with the new rink. Hey, he’s not the first owner to ever do it. But let’s make sure we all understand what’s happening here: The Oilers aren’t going anywhere.”

I’ll leave the last word here to Globe & Mail commentator Gary Mason, as it’s the view that I believe to be the sanest and most reasonable of the bunch:

“The Oilers mean everything to Edmonton – and Mr. Katz knows it. He knows that despite the pressure they are under to safeguard taxpayers’ dollars, civic politicians know how important the team is to those same taxpayers. After years of being a last-place laughing stock, the team appears to be on the brink of building a potential Stanley Cup contender. The mayor and his council would be hanged in effigy if the franchise was to leave – or at least that’s what Mr. Katz wants them to believe.

“On the other hand, council knows that Mr. Katz has nowhere to go. His franchise makes money, which is something many NHL owners can’t say. The notion of him packing up and moving the team to Seattle if he doesn’t get his way is ludicrous.

“Firstly, there is no guarantee the league would ever approve such a move – especially when there are owners who have been in the league a lot longer than Mr. Katz, propping up teams in money-losing markets, ahead of the Oilers’ proprietor in the lineup for relocation. And, of course, there is absolutely no guarantee that he’d make money in Seattle, a midsized U.S. city that only has so much corporate capacity to support pro sports teams.

“In the end, a deal will get done in Edmonton because it’s in the greater interests of both sides. A new arena will help revitalize a part of the downtown core that desperately needs a facelift. At the same time, a new building will allow Mr. Katz to make even more money than he already does.”

P.S. Here, again, is the Katz Group’s press release at the time of the Seattle visit:

“I can confirm that Daryl Katz, Patrick LaForge, Kevin Lowe and others from the Oilers leadership group are in Seattle for meetings and to attend the Seahawks game.

We remain committed to working with City Administration to achieve a deal commensurate with what Winnipeg and Pittsburgh have done to sustain the NHL in those small markets. If we can achieve such a deal, the Oilers will remain in Edmonton and we can get on with the important work of developing the new arena and investing in the continued revitalization of Edmonton’s downtown core.

Nonetheless, and as the City of Edmonton is aware, the Katz Group has been listening to proposals from a number of potential NHL markets for some time. After more than four years of trying to secure an arena deal and with less than 24 months remaining on the Oilers’ lease at Rexall Place, this is only prudent and should come as no surprise.

We are extremely grateful to Oilers’ fans for their patience and loyalty as we work through this process towards what we sincerely hope will be a long and successful future for the Oilers in Edmonton. We have no further comment on the status of our discussions with other markets at this time.”

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